1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a printer or copying machine that applies an electrophotographic process or an electrostatic recording process and forms a three-dimensional image using foam toner, an image processing apparatus, an image forming method, and an image processing method, and in particular to an image forming apparatus, an image processing apparatus, image forming method, and an image processing method that have an image processing function of making differences in coloration between a case where an ordinary color image is formed and a case where a color image is formed on foam toner inconspicuous.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, it has been common to use image forming apparatus, such as electrophotographic and electrostatic recording printers and copying machines, in order to two-dimensionally form on a recording medium, such as recording paper, an image, such as black-and-white or full color characters and figures or photographs, to visually recognize the image formed on the recording medium, and to transmit desired information.
With respect thereto, if image information can be expressed three-dimensionally, there is the effect of increasing the sense of actuality and the sense of realism, and it also becomes possible to utilize haptic information.
The techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 10-304458 and in JP-A-2001-134006 are known as techniques that carry out three-dimensional printing by an electrophotographic process as character information, such as Braille, and image information, such as a map showing topography.
In the methods for forming a three-dimensional image disclosed in these publications, a three-dimensional image is formed by, for example, disposing a toner image including coloring materials of predetermined colors on a foam toner image in an electrophotographic recording process, causing the foam toner image to foam by applying heat thereto in a fixing step, and melting and adhering the respective color toner images that have been disposed thereon.
In a case where a color image is formed on a recording medium by an ordinary method, toners of predetermined colors are melted and adhered onto the recording medium in accordance with image information, and the multicolor toners are mixed and fixed as a color image, and the image is always formed two-dimensionally on the recording medium because foam toner is not disposed at a base portion.
When comparing the color image formed on the recording medium by the above-described ordinary method (forming an ordinary print region) with the case where a three-dimensional color image formed on a recording medium by fixing respective color toners on foam toner is formed (forming a three-dimensional print region), because the color image of the ordinary print region is flat and the color image of the three-dimensional print region projects on the recording medium, differences in coloration arise on the surface thereof. In particular, the tendency for granularity to worsen in the three-dimensional print region is remarkable in comparison with the ordinary print region.
In the conventional image forming apparatus, because the color image of the ordinary print region is always formed two-dimensionally in contrast to the color image that is formed three-dimensionally in the three-dimensional print region, there has been the problem that differences arise in coloration between the color images of both print regions when the ordinary print region and the three-dimensional print region are mixed, which leads to low image quality tone.